In this edition of Toronto Maple Leafs News & Rumors, I’ll take a look at where ex-Maple Leafs’ goalie Erik Kallgren landed this summer. For the past couple of seasons, he was always the go-to goalie when every other Toronto goalie was injured. As a depth player with the team, he seemed to never get a consistent role. He’s now gone to the New Jersey Devils and will likely be their third-string goalie this season.
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Second, I’ll share some insights about what many people saw as a curious signing this offseason of Ryan Reaves. In fact, it was one of new general manager (GM) Brad Treliving’s earlier free agent signings of the offseason. Given that Reaves’ contributions won’t likely be in the area of puck-moving, skating, or scoring, what does he bring to the team? Even more interesting to me, why does the team need what he brings? And how did Treliving come to believe that they did?
Third, I’ll share reasons why I believe rumors the Maple Leafs are likely to trade TJ Brodie as baseless. Don’t expect him to be moved any time soon.
Item One: Good Luck to Ex-Maple Leafs Goalie Erik Kallgren
On July 1, 2023, the Devils signed Kallgren to a one-year, two-way contract for the 2023-24 season. The contract is worth $775,000 at the NHL level and $450,000 at the American Hockey League (AHL) level. Given the makeup of the Devils’ goalie depth, it would seem that Kallgren is set to become the third-string and the starting goalie for their AHL affiliate the Utica Comets.
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As fans know, Kallgren played two seasons in the Maple Leafs organization (during 2021-22 and 2022-23). In his first season, his record was 8-4-1, with a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.31 and a save percentage (SV%) of .888. Last season, although his record was 3-2-4, he improved both by registering a 2.67 GAA and a .898 SV%.
Now 26 years old, it will be interesting to see how he develops if he’s given more consistent opportunities. With the Maple Leafs, he seemed to only get in a game when there was no one else to put into the net.
I wish him well. I thought he was calm in the net and steady enough given his deployment. He never seemed to get traction with the Maple Leafs, but I anticipate he has the ability to become an NHL-caliber goalie. He’s one of the former Maple Leafs players I’m anxious to watch this season.
Item Two: Why Did the Maple Leafs Sign Ryan Reaves Again?
As I noted in the introduction, the story that isn’t told around the signing of Reaves intrigues me. What we heard about the signing is that new GM Treliving believed the Maple Leafs’ locker room needed more vocal leadership and “characters.” Reaves was signed because he was seen to add value as someone willing to speak up and keep the team focused during tough times. He also brought the physicality the team needed to protect the elite stars and keep things in order when they got out of hand.
Related: Toronto Maple Leafs’ Curious Signing of Ryan Reaves
My big questions in all this are “How did Treliving know about the Maple Leafs locker room?” And, “Why did he believe it was too quiet and needed characters?”
I can’t imagine that he’d ever been in the Maple Leafs locker room – before, during, or after a game – given that he was with the Calgary Flames and not privy to what was going on “inside the room.” My guess is that he had to gain that “insight” from someone. And who would that someone be? [I don’t have much of a clue, actually.]
One can watch and guess about the leadership of the Maple Leafs team. Captain John Tavares is a salt-of-the-earth, nice-guy leader. That’s easy to see from his support of others. He doesn’t get tied up in public knots; he says the right things at the right time; and, while he’s getting older, his work ethic remains to be admired.
He obviously also goes out of his way to welcome the new kids on the block. Last season, when he came from Minnesota, Matthew Knies lived with the Tavares family. The report is that Knies will live with Tavares again this season.
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But, clearly Tavares leads by example rather than being a vocal leader. One can guess that Reaves might be “encouraged” by someone up the Maple Leafs food chain to speak up from the bench and defend his teammates – not only on the ice but with the media off the ice.
All this said I’m not questioning the value of someone assuming such a unique role on the team could be appreciated by those in the same locker room. While signing players solely for their vocal presence might be unusual, the importance of having someone willing to speak up and keep the team focused during tough times might be important. I’m withholding my judgment.
What’s Next for the Maple Leafs?
I have to smile at the speculation of a potential trade involving Brodie. It’s baseless for several reasons. While he is a pending unrestricted free agent with a $5 million contract, the Maple Leafs (as always) are in a win-now approach.
Brodie is a player they’ll want to keep rather than move. Like other defensemen, he’ll make a mistake every once in a while. But these are few and far between. To my mind, he’s quietly the best defender on the team.
Also, all the speculation about Brodie being upset when the Flames didn’t want to re-sign him when his contract expired before he signed with Toronto is goofy. While he probably had nothing against playing with the Flames, coming to Toronto was Christmas morning for him. He’s from Chatham and grew up a Maple Leafs fan.
Note the Twitter link below from when Brodie was a youngster.
Luke Fox of Sportsnet put it well, noting that “Treliving prefers his bluelines big and bullish, yet Brodie is the best pure defender on Toronto’s back end. I’d argue that the Leafs need more Brodie, not less.”
